Previews

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The focus of our playtest was to get more time to explore the multiplayer aspect of the game, including the later options available for character advancement. What exactly does leveling up your Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer profile get you? Well, with each level, you can gain access to a variety of different character enhancements. Some involve access to content that you didn't have before, like challenges and training missions. Other levels may grant you access to clan tags or other ways to personalize your character. Primarily, however, you'll be leveling up for access to all the different weapons and perks that are the key building blocks behind the character class system. After all, can you really stop playing until you've gained enough levels to unlock the Desert Eagle .50 caliber pistol?

Building the better mouse trap, or becoming the most efficient killing machine possible, is dependent on building a character class that best suits your play style on a map-by-map basis, or even on a situational basis, and finding appropriate combinations of weaponry and perks to bring your concept to tactical fruition. It's a pretty simple formula, just a main weapon, a sidearm, a special grenade choice and three perks. But don't let that fool you into thinking that the gameplay lacks any depth. If there's anything going for the game at all (besides the aforementioned ridiculously impressive visuals and silky-smooth frame rate) it's in how much the multiplayer game has to offer.

My Sniping is 18(00) But My Charisma is Only 5

For raw efficiency in nearly any scenario, one of our favorite "bang for your buck" character class builds centers on the M4 assault rifle. With the red dot sight attachment, it's hard to find a weapon that's more viable in more situations than the M4, as it has decent range, good stopping power, and great accuracy. The drawback is that the red dot or reflex sight is great at pinpointing targets within your field of vision, but lacks a zooming function, which makes it a poor choice for taking on an ensconced sniper. Still, for most situations, the M4 proves more than adequate, and its versatility allows you to pick and choose from the many different perk options. Completing the marksman challenges required to unlock the M4's red dot sight isn't very difficult either, since you can always get the required number of kills using the undermounted grenade launcher attachment (or as Infinity Ward's staffers have come to call it, the Noob Tube).

One of the perks that we had the chance to toy with that I hadn't seen in the multiplayer beta was Double Tap, a Perk 2 slot ability that increases the rate of fire on your weapon. This perk turned the M4 into a veritable bullet hose, emptying an entire clip in what seemed like no more than a second. It was absolute murder on enemies at close range, but for longer range firefights, the increased rate of fire had a very noticeable effect on the gun's stability, and shorter bursts became somewhat harder to manage. It's probably not a necessary perk to pick up, but a fun option to toy with nonetheless.

We had plenty of fun using Double Tap, especially with the larger machine gun options like the "Rambo gun," the M60. But if we weren't lying prone, the crazy jump in recoil that Double Tap induced made the perk more of a hindrance than a benefit. Of course we'll have to wait and see what the community thinks of affecting rate of fire this way, and it'll probably make the biggest difference for the slowest of weapons, like shotguns and sniper rifles. The higher rate of fire weapons may be more viable at the higher levels of play once you've unlocked the Bandolier perk, allowing you to carry more ammo.